Content Warnings

Edit Locked

"Warning: this comic occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors)."

Sometimes, producers or distributors feel the need to warn the viewers of what they are about to see. This serves to help viewers who might not like what they're about to see stop looking at it before things get unpleasant; for others, it's an invitation to watch.

Content warnings are often given in conjunction with a ratings system as an explanation of why a given work has the rating it does. In most cases, these are selected from a list of stock warnings (e.g. "strong language", "violence", "imitable behavior", or the very general "viewer discretion advised") — these don't really provide much of an explanation. A warning specific to the work shows that the work itself is fairly controversial or otherwise unusual.

Examples

"The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect the network's views", often done before programs expressing particularly controversial opinions.

"The following is a paid commercial program; the network assumes no responsibility for its content" is commonly seen before infomercials.

"All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law" is commonly seen on Cop Shows where real people are arrested on screen.

"This program has been pre-recorded and does not reflect recent events" is a way to prevent Too Soon.

"The recipes contained here are to be followed exactly as written. The publisher is not responsible for your specific health or allergy needs that require medical supervision." Common in cookbooks, and even other books on food.

One you might see in Australia from time to time: "This programme may contain the image and voice recordings of people who are now dead." Australian Aborigines consider it taboo to directly discuss the dead or mention them by name, so this warning is especially common for works that are marketed to them.

In Japan, anime and toku broadcasts usually have this: "When watching this program, please make sure the room is well lit, and do not sit too close to the screen." This is largely a response to Pokémon's infamous episode "Electric Soldier Porygon", which had a strobe effect that triggered seizures in some viewers.note Said incident raised awareness in phtosensitive epilepsy which gave rise to the warnings. For similar reasons, other countries will include warnings for shows or news reports that contain flashing images or flash photography, and some video games will warn people not to play them if they have epilepsy because these games are likely to flash the screen.

The Australian OFLC has a category for "Infrequent Coarse Language", which means the work contains no swearing apart from a Precision F-Strike or two.

Some music CDs come with warnings about digital sound effects recorded at a very high level and recommend playback at lower levels to avoid damaging the speakers.

CD-ROMs with Redbook music tracks often have labels warning you not to play Track 1 on an audio CD player, as this track contains program code rather than music. Some have the warning message read aloud at the beginning of the track itself.

Some really Nintendo Hard games will warn you in advance how hard the highest difficulty setting is, telling you to "play at your own risk". Part of that is posturing, but it also has the effect of warning the player in advance to prevent Rage Quitting when they realize that it's Harder Than Hard.

Pay cable channels such as HBO and Cinemax, at least in their heyday, started films with their MPAA rating and what it meant. Notably, a slightly modified version preceded Excalibur, a film that was originally rated R but was cut into PG.

By law, any programming in the Philippines not considered safe for young children must post a "PG" or "Parental Guidance" watermark on the screen while the program is running. For even stronger content, the watermark must show "SPG" or "Strong Parental Guidance." Both cases are bilingual and shown together (with the warning advisory airing before the start of a show or movie aired on TV), but for the latter rating, it will run like it's the equivalent of TV-14, with Themes, Language, Violence, Sex, Horror and Drugs content descriptors depending on what show or movie is aired on TV, and the content warning for it will show twice, the second time when a show is midway through the show (mostly after the CM break).

Anime and Manga

Viz Media seems to make a habit of putting unusual content warnings on its English-language M-rated manga.

In High School Boys and UFO Catchers, this advisory appears when the main trio tries to shake a UFO Catcher machine to get a teddy bear plush which narrowly missed the hole, and again when Tadakuni's little sister succeeds in shaking it out:

Mobile Suit Gundam 00 is one of the only anime that have ever aired on Cartoon Network Philippines with a parental guidance warning due to its violent nature (though some edits were still made).

Later episodes of the anime of Rainbow say "After careful consideration of the times, we feel that intense scenes in this show are important to the story." The show's violence is rarely gruesome and never exaggerated, but it's often committed by adults against minors.

The second DVD of Last Exile is rated 12 by the BBFC for "a firebreathing scene".

The anime adaptation of Minna Atsumare! Falcom Gakuen warns at the end of most episodes for, of all things, out of character moments (in red text no less) compared to the video games they hail from.

Both original North American airings of the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex episode "Jungle Cruise" (the one with the serial killer who skins his victims and plugs his eyes into them so they can watch themselves get killed) began with them:

YTV in Canada skipped over the episode originally because of the violent content, but thanks to complaints from viewers, they were compelled to air it with a special disclaimer stating that the violence was above what the network would allow.

[adult swim] introduced their "In case the last disclaimer wasn't enough..." warning (see below) when they premiered this episode. They've used it several times since then.

A warning before certain features on Sci-Fi's former Saturday Anime block: "This film includes graphic special effects (or some violent content). Parental discretion is advised." Mostly this was due to violence, even after editing down.

WARNING: This is an ANTI-RAPE piece, speaking out against erotic rape scenes in fanfictions. In no way is this meant to be "hot" or anything, it's supposed to be disturbing to show how horrible an criminal rape is. But there are a buncha funny parts an it's not all depressing. I just wanna get a message across to my readers that RAPE IS NOT GOOD.

The disclaimer at the beginning of the W.I.T.C.H. fic Redemption's Flame reads: "This is a work of fan fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons living, dead, living dead, or un-dead is, like, totally on purpose."

Yu-Gi-Oh: Tilting the Balance has a warning before the chapter "Hell's Own", informing the reader of the greatly increased gore compared to other chapters. This being the chapter where one of the main characters has a chain shot through her ribcage and out her back, it's not ill-used. A similar warning can be found before the chapters featuring Reston.

If anyone wants conclusive proof that the MPAA are being paid off, the movie was rated PG-13 for "irreverent humor throughout." The producers and marketers likely wanted the inclusion of Bart's willie to stay a secret.

From the beginning of the DVD:

The Environmental Protection Agency wishes to strenuously object to its depiction in this film. We are a competent, well-meaning government bureaucracy, and if we were ever granted any real power we would never, ever abuse it, we promise. — Russ Cargill, Acting Head

The video and DVD releases of Dogma start with a disclaimer that states that the movie is a work of comedy and not intended to offend or be taken seriously, before going off into a long meandering rant about the platypus representing the fact that God does, in fact, have a sense of humor, even if some viewers don't. What else could explain the platypus, really? He then makes a disclaimer apologizing to all lovers of platypuses.

Aliens in the Attic contains a specific content warning about misuse of fireworks, which can be a real safety concern.

The Fight Club DVD has another warning after the FBI/copyright notices that only flashes up for 7 seconds before segueing into a freaky animated sequence. If you freeze it, it tells you you're wasting your life freeze-framing DVDs to read it.

A capsule review for Fellowship of the Ring cautioned that it contained "epic battles, scary monsters, body-piercing swords, and smoking."

The DVD case for xXx warns that it's rated PG-13 for, among other things, "Non-Stop Action Sequences". So, how much did the producers pay the MPAA to insert those first two words?

Team America: World Police has the ever-amusing MPAA warning of "graphic crude and sexual humor, violent images and strong language — all involving puppets". The BBFC's warning is similar.

After the credits of Cannibal! The Musical, there is a message reading: "Due to the graphic nature of this film, it should not have been watched by small children".

At the end of the theatrical release of Borat, before the MPAA rating card at the end, the film announces its approval from the Kazakh board of censors. ("Just antisemitic enough," as noted by the title character on his The Daily Show appearance.)

During the first several years of the 1930s, when The Hays Code was not yet being strictly enforced but still had to be taken seriously, movies would often be preceded by what many film historians have come to call an "exculpatory preface." This was basically a disclaimer that appeared at the beginning of, for example, gangster films, the sociopolitical melodrama Cabin in the Cotton, and (perhaps most famously of all) the horror film Freaks. Generally speaking, the basic message of the exculpatory preface was something like this: "This film depicts a political or sociological point of view that we, the filmmakers, do not endorse — or maybe we do endorse, but we're denying we're doing so in order to avoid controversy." The Hays Office generally tolerated these, but the prefaces weren't fooling anybody.

We are about to unfold the story of Frankenstein, a man of science who sought to create a man after his own image without reckoning upon God. It is one of the strangest tales ever told. It deals with the two great mysteries of creation — life and death. I think it will thrill you. It may shock you. It might even...horrify you. So if any of you feel that you do not care to subject your nerves to such a strain, now's your chance to...uh, well, we warned you.

One of the reasons Twister was given a PG-13 by the MPAA was "intense depiction of very bad weather".

As proud as we are of The Watcher in the Woods, Walt Disney Productions strongly recommends that parents pre-screen this picture for pre-teens. It is not for small children!

Original posters for the 1971 film The Andromeda Strain carried this warning: "Rated G but may be too intense for younger children."

One of the reasons Naked Lunch is rated R by the MPAA is "bizarre eroticism".

The 2012 version of The Three Stooges has an epilogue following the movie by the Farelly Brothers showing how the tools used by the stooges in the film were made out of rubber and the pokes in the eye just barely missed the eye poking the eyelid below, and that children who saw the film should not attempt any of the stooges' antics themselves.

Caligula had the warning printed in large letters directly under the title on the poster of the 20th Anniversary edition (not submitted to the MPAA to avoid the dreaded NC-17 rating):

Parodied before the opening credits of the rap MockumentaryFear of a Black Hat:

ANNOUNCER: The producers of this film would like to express that they in no manner wish to support or condone the words, phrases and images — such as "ass", "booty", "yo bitch", "Bush is a dickhead", and "big-butt women in tiny bikinis" — which are used in this film. However, in an effort to maintain accuracy and journalistic integrity, words, phrases and images — such as [with more emphasis] "ass", "booty", "yo bitch", "Bush is a dickhead", and "big-butt women in tiny bikinis" — are necessary. [Louder] But rest assured, the words, phrases and images — such as "ASS!", "BOOTY!", "YO BITCH!", "BUSH IS A DICKHEAD!", and "BIG-BUTT WOMEN IN TINY BIKINIS!" — will not be used without warrant, or in any gratuitous manner."

The Disney Channel once ran Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory almost in its entirety — unlike modern airings, the boat scene was almost entirely left in. This alone might have spurred them to put a warning in front of it declaring that it might be too scary for kids, but they were also likely concerned about the infamous scene where Wonka declares that Charlie would "get nothing" for violating the contract, believing it is too intense for young children to face adult arguments. In all, this was the only Disney-run film back then to run a warning for something not rated PG-13.

Dawn of the Dead and its "sequel" Zombi 2 were both rated X by the MPAA; however, in lieu of the display of an X rating on any materials whatsoever, the following warning is shown:

There is no explicit sex in this picture. However, there are scenes of violence which may be considered shocking. No one under 17 will be admitted.

The ultra-obscure No Budget Canadian zombie film Corpse Eaters opens with the following disclaimer:

ANNOUNCER: Attention please: the motion picture you are about to see contains certain very stomach-upsetting scenes. The producers feel they have a moral obligation to warn each and every ticket buyer of this fact. Although most people have the ability to cope with the sudden nausea and shock, there are some people who cannot handle it. Test audiences, after watching this motion picture, suggested that a warning of some sort be included before each scene they found to be upsetting. Therefore, the producers have inserted a special warning buzzer and picture of a patron reacting to the scene. When you see the man turning green and the buzzer sounding, those of you who feel you cannot take it, please do not look at the screen. Here is what to look for: [cue shot of man gagging into handkerchief accompanied by the buzzer] It is your only warning of the scene coming up. Thank you for your co-operation.

Literature

The Spitting Image parody of Margaret Thatcher's memoirs bore a sticker on the front that said "WARNING! This book carries a salacious warning on the front that is an OBSCENE attempt to sell more copies".

Dave Barry's novel Big Trouble comes with a warning at the beginning saying that the book contains bad words and is not for children. His next novel, Tricky Business, had a similar warning in a larger typeface, because apparently not enough readers of Big Trouble got the warning.

The first page of Helter Skelter, prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi’s recounting of the Manson Family murders, is blank save for the statement "The story you are about to read will SCARE THE HELL OUT OF YOU."

Someone is Eating the Sun portrays various farm animals reacting to a solar eclipse, sometimes looking directly at the sun. At the beginning of the book, the author warns people not to do this.

The series had a content warning for graphic violence, but hilariously in the first two seasons this was only used four times. This was pithily pointed out by one writer who stated, "Because the other episodes didn't have any violence in them, did they?"

One episode from the final season of the original run was strong enough to bear two content warnings, the latter appearing right before one of Jack's more brutal torture sessions (and also one of the few where he failed to break the victim into talking).

The following block may not be suitable for people who did not grow up on '90s Nick.

The 700 Club always airs with a disclaimer that "the opinions expressed in this show do not reflect the views of ABC Family" (now known as Freeform). Notice that there is no "necessarily" — the network is outright stating that it disagrees with the show's viewpoint. It's essentially the personal show of Pat Robertson, a controversial fundamentalist Christian televangelist; he used to own the networknote its first name was CBN Cable; they mostly disowned the network because it was too profitable for the nonprofit CBN to keep around, and the contract with Disney/ABC requires that the network airs his show.

"The program you are about to see is All In The Family. It seeks to throw a humorous spotlight on our frailties, prejudices, and concerns. By making them a source of laughter we hope to show, in a mature fashion, just how absurd they are." [sound of toilet flushing]

Angel normally didn't have warnings, but the season five episode "Hell Bound" involving serial killer Pavayne notably had one due to the unsettling torture scenes.

Animal Cops usually has two viewer discretion warnings for graphic content, specifically animal abuse — one at the start and another somewhere in the middle of the episode.

"The following contains senior citizens pranking real unsuspecting young people. If you find this offensive...too bad."

And in the second season:

"The following contains graphic images of seniors pranking innocent youngsters. None of the names or identifying characteristics have been changed to protect the innocent, because their reactions are just too dang funny..."

Both parts of The Blacklist episode "Anslo Garrick" aired with warnings about the violent content.

Brain Games: "Parents should not watch this except at their children's discretion".

On Brainiac, particularly dangerous experiments (or anything involving microwaves) are preceded by Richard Hammond popping up and saying "Do not try this at home." Then, a few seconds later, popping up again: "No, really. Don't." When Vic Reeves took over, he changed it to the more thoughtful "Do not try this at home...or indeed anywhere else."

Comedy Central has two of these, in harmony with warnings from their other shows:

The "Camp Kiki-slasher" and "Fog'd In" episode of Bunk'd had a warning that the episode would be scarier than usual and should be watched with an adult. The first episode involves, well, a slasher, and the second episode involves a brain altering neurotoxin though it ends up having been a prank.

"This program is uncut, and contains strong language and adult situations. Viewer discretion is advised." - Reserved for uncensored showings of CC programs, uncut movies and comedy specials, and certain late-night programs such as The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail that are always shown uncensored. Most TV-MA programs that are aired after midnight, especially on Fridays and Saturdays, will carry this warning. Oddly, It's Always Sunny will often air in uncut form at later hours of the night despite having the first warning.

The Daily Show is often aired outside the United States on networks that may have real news reporting or other serious content, or in countries with legal requirements for the impartiality and moderation of all news broadcasts. As such, these airings get the following warning:

The show you are about to see is a News Parody. Its stories are not fact checked. Its reporters are not journalists. And its opinions are not fully thought through.

A Different World had the following warning for two episodes: "Tonight's episode deals with a subject that is sensitive in nature. Viewer discretion is advised." One was for Freddie's Date Rape Averted episode, and the other was for the one where Tisha Campbell's character disclosed that she had AIDS.

The DVD of Series 5, Volume 1 warns that it contains "smoking scenes." Most of them involve Winston Churchill.

"The Web of Fear" was originally broadcast with a warning from the Doctor, in character, talking to children at home to warn them that the Yeti is returning and that they're scarier than last time, so "if Mummy and Daddy are scared, you just get them to hold your hand." While the episode is unusually scary, this was also the child-friendly equivalent of Rated M for Money, since the Yeti were very popular monsters at the time. Only the audio has survived, but you can watch a fanmade reconstruction here.

The PBS series Frontline did a special episode on the porn industry entitled "American Porn", which began with a warning very uncommon to see on a PBS show. Not only that, but a red box with the words "Adult Material" appeared on-screen in the top left corner for the entire length of the program.

The Hogan Family: The second-season episode "Bad Timing," where a frank discussion between David and his girlfriend involves the use of the word "condom", was one of the first Dom Com episodes to address safe sex; as such, it had one of these read before the episode, as well as commercials for birth-control products and safe-sex PSAs that aired during the night. The pre-episode disclaimer was kept in syndicated airings of the episodenote which, curiously, is the only one to retain the show's original title, Valerie - after the character of Valerie was McLeaned, the show's title was changed to Valerie's Family and then The Hogan Family. Every other Valerie and Valerie's Family episode was retrofitted with the Hogan Family title when the show went into syndication. (And yes, David and his girlfriend decided to "wait.")

Warning: The following show features stunts performed either by professionals or under the supervision of professionals. Accordingly, MTV and the producers must insist that no one attempt to recreate or re-enact any stunt or activity performed on this show.

The following is a graphic depiction of a violent prehistoric battle. Viewer discretion is advised.

Little House on the Prairie: Several episodes dealing with racism were not shy about using the word "nigger", and each of them had a discretionary message alerting viewers beforehand that characters were going to use the word. Michael Landon's scripts reflected the harsh realities of the 1800s, where men who hated African-Americans regularly used the word in reference to them.

The DVD of Look Around You is rated 12 for, among other things, "dangerous experiments". While its experiments are of course completely nonsensical, some (such as fishing an egg out of boiling water with your bare hands, or connecting a big chunk of metal to the mains) would be legitimately dangerous if attempted in real life, and "dangerous if attempted in real life" has always been a massive red flag for the BBFC.

Eric Idle: There are scenes of violence, people's heads being ripped off, and their toenails being pulled out in slow motion. Then there's a scene where you can see everything, but my friend says it's just all in the way he's holding the spear.

The Muppet Show had a segment that opened with Kermit warning the audience, "some scenes may not be suitable for adults".

Mythbusters both parodies and plays this trope straight. At several intervals before and during the show, members of the Mythbusters team will appear and warn viewers not to try any of their experiments at home. However, they will also playfully put up a screen saying WARNING: SCIENCE CONTENT! before some of the more detailed explanations. Adam Savage has stated he hates the disclaimers, because there are a lot of things he does want people to try at home (as such, they do on occasion make it clear when an experiment is indeed safe to replicate).

Parodied in one episode of Night and Day with messages overlaid on-screen during scenes in which Natalie Harper behaves entirely out-of-character. They progress from "Warning: smoking kills", to "Warning: Drinking may cause a downward spiral into the abyss", to "Shagging your daughter's ex-boyfriend can seriously damage your health" (particularly fitting since the ex-boyfriend in question has apparently become possessed by a demon).

The fifth-season NUMB3RS episode "Thirty-Six Hours" deals with a train derailment. It was written and filmed before the Chatsworth Metrolink crash but was shown after. At the start of the episode, David Krumholtz gives a content warning that establishes the episode was written and filmed before the tragedy and gives a warning so those who might find the story disturbing can make an informed decision.

Quatermass II: "Before we begin the fourth episode of Quatermass II, we'd like to say that in our opinion it is not suitable for children, or those of you who may have a nervous disposition." — Retraux content warnings, 1955 style.

The Red Dwarf episode "Polymorph" has a "built-in" content warning at the beginning of the episode.

The Revolution episode "The Stand" (which had lots of blood, gore, and graphic war scenes) used a menacing red splash-screen to display a content warning. Curiously, no episode since then has used the warning, not even "Children of Men", which also featured heavy war violence.

An episode of Roundhouse had David Nicoll getting a painful wedgie. The scene is interrupted by Lisa informing viewers not to try it at home, and that Roundhouse does not condone wedgies, before resuming the show.

The late-1980s series Seeing Things ran into a politically correct disclaimer when it was rebroadcast only a few years later, warning viewers that the depiction of women on television "was not always the same as it is now". After being ridiculed by Canadian media for political correctness, the network abandoned the disclaimer.

Soap began each episode with a "parental discretion advised" warning, primarily because it was one of the first ongoing TV series to feature an openly gay character.

The following program contains content* rendered as "graphic violence" in a couple of episodes where the violent content was much more intense than usual which may not be suitable for all audiences. Viewer discretion is advised.

When the Ultimate Fighting Championship is broadcast on FOX, a rather boastful disclaimer airs reading "The following might be the most exciting live sporting event in the history of television, and it's our duty to say: VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED."

Parodied on Weird Warfare, which has a warning before each segment that describes the bizarre military concepts it will explore: "The following program features a Hitlersex change and exploding pancakes. Viewer discretion is advised."

When Spooks aired in the United States on PBS as MI-5, it came with a warning for "content some viewers may find objectionable".

From the original Unsolved Mysteries: "This program is about unsolved mysteries. Whenever possible, the actual family members and police officials have participated in recreating the events. What you are about to see is not a news broadcast." Cue that catchy yet terrifying theme tune and Robert Stack's "Join me! Perhaps you may be able to help solve a mystery."

Wonder Showzen. Though the theme song claimed it to be a "kid's show, kid's show. Oh, Good Lord, it's a kid's show," viewers were warned in no uncertain terms by a disclaimer shown in the beginning and after commercials:

WARNING:

WONDER SHOWZEN CONTAINS OFFENSIVE, DESPICABLE CONTENT THAT IS TOO CONTROVERSIAL AND TOO AWESOME FOR ACTUAL CHILDREN. THE STARK, UGLY, PROFOUND TRUTHS WONDER SHOWZEN EXPOSES MAY BE SOUL CRUSHING TO THE WEAK OF SPIRIT. IF YOU ALLOW A CHILD TO WATCH THIS SHOW, YOU ARE A BAD PARENT OR GUARDIAN.

You Can't Do That on Television: The episode "Inequality" replaces its Couch Gag pre-emption bumper with one of these, that reads "The following program contains certain scenes which may not be suitable for mature audiences. Juvenile discretion is advised."

Professional Wrestling

WWE's programs in the late '90s Attitude Era often had a content warning about violence and sexual situations — delivered by one of the resident Divas, who would vamp it up through the entire announcement.

On WWE DVDs, all of the trailers before the main menu are skippable — except for the mildly graphic one that shows the end result of any number of in-ring injuries, with the stern request to "Please do not try this at home".

After his double murder-suicide, Chris Benoit matches on the WWE Network are preceded by the following: "The following program is presented in its original form. It may contain some content that does not reflect WWE's corporate views and may not be suitable for all viewers. WWE characters are fictitious and do not reflect the personal lives of the actors portraying them. Viewer discretion is advised." This seems pretty unnecessary, since Benoit was a face for practically his entire WWE career, and nothing he is seen doing in-universe is going to be viewed as particularly problematic.

Briscoe Brothers promos are occasionally preceded by "a mature audiences only" warning, especially in Ring of Honor, who tried and failed to "tune them down" across two television deals. As time went on ROH had to add more and more words to the disclaimers and once had "trained professionals" in quotes on the disclaimer itself in relation to the "stunts" being performed.

When Truth Martini took over a bar in Chicago and used it run an unauthorized "Night of Hoopla", it was preceded by the disclaimer: "The views of Truth Martini do not represent the views of ROH Wrestling, its management, or its subsidiaries."

Before Vendetta Pro Wrestling 2014 anniversary show, Sunami read the "the view expressed may not reflect" disclaimer himself before he and Kadin Anthony explained their four-year feud with the Ballard brothers and their intention to end the Ballards' careers for good.

PARENTAL ADVISORY stickers were the controversial brainchild of Tipper Gore and her Parents Music Resource Center, spurred mostly by Tipper catching one of her daughters listening to a Prince album that mentioned the word "masturbation". The 1985 Senate Labor and Commerce Committee hearings saw Frank Zappa, Dee Snyder of Twisted Sister and John Denver testify about their responsibilities as musicians and the fact that the stickers, a seemingly innocuous choice-enabling tool, were a form of censorship. Starting in the 1990's, however, Parental Advisory stickers became a selling point for hardcore rappers/rock bands, as well as pop and R&B singers proving how edgy they were. In many cases, the sticker would be comically oversized to drive home that yes, the artists is that risque.

A sticker on the cover of some Guns N' Roses albums reads, "This album contains language which some listeners may find objectionable. They can F?!* OFF and buy something from the New Age section."

Caution: "Three Minute Warning" is not for the musically faint-hearted, impatient, or critics of extreme self-indulgence. If you fall into any of the above categories, please hit the stop button on your CD player after track #8.

The only track you probably won't want to play is "Damage, Inc." due to the multiple use of the infamous "F" word. Otherwise, there aren't any "Shits", "Fucks", "Pisses", "Cunts", "Motherfuckers" or "Cocksuckers" anywhere on this record.

In the music video for "Inside the Fire" by Disturbed, just before the video starts, the lead singer warns the audience that the following song contains themes of suicide, advertising the national suicide prevention hotline as well. He probably did this by choice, especially considering that his girlfriend did kill herself.

Capitol Steps recordings: "Warning: this CD contains parodies!"

The Offspring has a long content warning on its Ixnay on the Hombre album which is better suited to the Quotes Wiki, so you can read it there.

Mindless Self Indulgence had an inversion. The radio-friendly version of "Frankenstein Girls Will Seem Strangely Sexy" had a sticker with the following disclaimer: "This recording has been carefully wiped clean and has absolutely no filthy words like FUCK so that you can play it at your radio facility. Now hurry the fuck up and play the fucking thing." Also, all vowels in the song titles on the back cover were *'d out.

Steel Panther, an Affectionate Parody of the hair metal genre, has two warning stickers on its album Feel The Steel. The one on the front is a standard Parental Advisory label, while the one on the back has this to say:

"The CD/LP you are about to listen to contains parodies that feature foul language, adult content, satanic imagery and depictions of sexually deviant fantasies that may offend the religious right, the unreligious left, fat girls, skinny girls, metrosexuals, animal lovers, animal haters, hippies, skinheads, the current presidential administration and people with ears. The record label and its parent companies do not endorse or support the opinions of Steel Panther. They just think they f—king rock."

The cover of Running Wild's Under Jolly Roger features a sticker that warns about loud effects that might damage the stereo, which refers to the cannon fire in the opening track.

While the uncensored version of Bloodhound Gang's Hooray For Boobies carried a sticker warning about "Extremely Offensive Material," the notoriously bastardized edited version (retitled Hooray) revises this to the odd "WARNING: Extremely Funny Material." Very few of the tracks are meant to be laugh-out-loud funny, just cleverly written; and others ("Along Comes Mary" in particular) aren't meant to be funny at all. The only big laugh-out-loud moment, really, is the hidden track — which, of course, is butchered.

Neil Young wrote and recorded a song called "Fuckin' Up" (actually written "F*!#in' Up") so that he could get a warning sticker. He didn't.

Sire Records' Just Say... compilation series had an album entitled Just Say Anything which carried a parental advisory sticker. It also opens with the song "Warning Parental Advisory" by John Wesley Harding and Steve Wynn, which pretty much deconstructs the trope through and through.

Warning, this is a parental advisory The words on this disc are in no way offensive They're just going to say what you already know

WARNING/GUARANTEE: This album contains material which a truly free society would neither fear nor suppress. In some socially retarded areas, religious fanatics and ultra-conservative political organizations violate your First Ammendment Rights by attempting to censor rock & roll albums. We feel that this is un-Constitutional and un-American. As an alternative to these government-supported programs (designed to keep you docile and ignorant). Barking Pumpkin is pleased to provide stimulating digital audio entertainment for those of you who have outgrown the ordinary. The language and concepts contained herein are GUARANTEED NOT TO CAUSE ETERNAL TORMENT IN THE PLACE WHERE THE GUY WITH THE HORNS AND POINTED STICK CONDUCTS HIS BUSINESS. This guarantee is as real as the threats of ther video fundamentalists who use attacks on rock music in their attempt to transform America into a nation of check-mailing nincompoops (in the name of Jesus Christ). If there is a hell, its fires wait for them, not us.

One episode of the third series finishes with the warning: "The preceding program contains scenes of extreme violence which may be disturbing to some viewers. Time travellers of a nervous disposition may wish to consider listening to something else for the previous half-hour."

A straight example was when the episode featuring the destruction of the Guide offices was broadcast on Radio 4shortly after 9/11.

The Archers: An episode where Owen rapes Kathy was preceded by such a warning, and immediately followed by a hotline number.

The 1940s horror series Lights Out routinely opened with one of these:

"Lights Out brings you stories of the supernatural and the supernormal, dramatizing the fantasies and mysteries of the unknown. We tell you this frankly, so if you wish to avoid the excitement and tension of these imaginative plays, we urge you calmly — but sincerely — to turn off your radio now."

Monty Python spoofed this in the "executive intro" for one of their records:

There is little or no offensive material [on this record] apart from four cunts, one clitoris, and a foreskin. And, as they only occur in this opening introduction, you're past them now.

Ken Hamblin's show would sometimes go into a commercial break with this parody warning:

"Caution! This radio show could prove hazardous to your victimizations and should be avoided at all costs if you are a white liberal, a quota black or brown, and trust in the merits of affirmative action forever. Should you fit into the above categories, the host and your radio station assume no responsibility for your predictable discomfort."

Tabletop Games

The box for Chez Geek, as well as its spinoffs, contains the tongue-in-cheek warning "For adult audiences only. Actual maturity not required."

Dungeons & Dragons' Book of Vile Darkness, a splatbook devoted to evil-aligned abilities, got a mature content warning that was somewhat out of proportion to the level of sex and violence actually present in it. Then Book of Exalted Deeds, a good-themed splatbook, got one too — but it contained things like saints, martyrs, and a feat that gave the character stigmata, and thus could conceivably offend certain groups. According to the designers, though, the warnings were there to deter the temptation to abuse the overpowered abilities present in both books.

Games which allow players to send each other content were given the ESRB warning "Game experience may change during online play". This is even true for certain games outside the ESRB's region. It was later replaced by "Online interactions not rated by the ESRB". There is a similar one for music games with downloadable songs: "Music downloads not rated by the ESRB".

"Some parts of this game may be considered violent or cruel", from the Silent Hill series, usually shown over a picture of the protagonist beating the snot out of a monster. (These warnings are not included in the HD re-releases.) Beating the snot out of monsters is rarely the most disturbing, violent, or cruel things about the games.

Silent Hill: Origins has a screen which says that parts of the game may be "disturbing". The idea that someone could buy a video game with disturbing images plastered all over the back cover without knowing that it could disturbing is disturbing in and of itself.

Eversion contains the following: "Not indicated for children or those of a nervous disposition." It's on the screen right before the title screen — right underneath an H.P. Lovecraft quote. The warning is quite appropriate, as the game is noted for making nervous players slightly paranoid.

Modern Warfare 2 goes beyond having a content warning; it allows you to skip the "No Russian" level, which it warns might be considered offensive. The warning is entirely justified, as the level has you participating in a simulated terrorist attack, striding through an airport and gunning down civilians. This level was the sole reason for the game getting an 18 rating from the BBFC in the UK - without it, the game would have been a 15.

Devil May Cry always opens with a warning about the violence in the game.

Despite being entirely bloodless and its violence nearly entirely slapstick, God Hand gets a violence warning in the US (over a picture of Gene nailing someone in the crotch) — just because of the "Head Slicer" God Reel.

Europa Universalis III has "alcohol and tobacco references" (i.e. the presence of wine and tobacco as tradable goods) contributing to its 12+ rating, alongside (very) "mild violence" consisting of sprites bloodlessly shooting at each other.

Soul Bubbles has an amusing one, warning the player of the absence of orcs, wizards, and soldiers, and assures that "everything will be hunky-dory".

StepMania has a typical warning not to play the game in a small room, although this announcer pack includes the girl saying, "Who reads this crap anyway?"

Star Soldier R has an unusual warning concerning its length — its longest game mode can be finished in five minutes, and the point of the game is to beat your best score. Lest people complain that It's Short, so It Sucks, the Wii Shop Channel has a warning (in red text no less) about how short the game is.

"WARNING: This game contains satanic references and may be inappropriate for some individuals."

Sega created a special "Deep Water" rating for games with a definitive adult theme. Only three games ever got this rating, in addition to the normal ESRB rating: Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Dark Side, X-Perts, and the Sega Saturn port of Duke Nukem 3D.

"Graffiti is art. However, graffiti as an act of vandalism is a crime. Every state/province has vandalism laws that apply to graffiti, and local entities such as cities and counties have anti-graffiti ordinances. Violation of these laws can result in a fine, probation and a jail sentence. SEGA, this document, and its author do not condone the act of real life vandalism in any form."

The classic warning from Resident Evil: "This game contains scenes of explicit violence and gore". Strong language was added in Resident Evil 4.

Vegetable Game opens with an ominous screen which cryptically states: "WARNING — Do not play Vegetable Game."

Typing Of The Dead actually integrates the content warning into the game, by making it one of the paragraphs the player has to type during the boss fight with Strength.

Warning: This game contains depictions of gore and violence. If you are of 17 years or younger, please play with your eyes closed.

In Cookie Clicker, the flavor text for the One Mind upgrade gives you red warning text, and attempting to purchase it gives you a dialog box warning you of potentially unexpected and undesirable results and asking if you really want to purchase it. Because if you click OK, you trigger the Grandmapocalypse.

Conker's Bad Fur Day includes a warning on the game's box (and it also has the ESRB rating of M much bigger than normal), on the Instruction Booklet, and at the start of the game, and when launching the game in Rare Replay.note In which the two Perfect Dark games on Rare Replay, both also rated M, do not have such a warning. But it's all justified because of the strong language, sexual references, gory violence, use of alcohol and tobacco, Toilet Humor, and the in-game elements of war, survival horror, and bank theft — all in a kid-friendly art style.

The Irritating Maze warns that "persons with cardiac disorder and/or pregnancy" should not attempt to play the game, though it doesn't give players actual electric shocks like the Game Show it was based on.

Mushihime-sama asks the player for confirmation with an ominous red "DANGER" screen if they attempt to play Ultra Mode. Its sequel Mushihimesama Futari does the same.

DoDonPachi Daifukkatsu Black Label comes with descriptions of Bomb Style, Power Style, and Strong Style on the Style select screen. Strong Style's description is juxtaposed with a difficulty warning every few seconds:

"DANGER — This style is customized for advanced players. Proceed only if you have prepared yourself."

Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden has "/!\\WARNING/!\\ May be erotic for child" spin onto the screen at the start of the Dating Sim minigame (see the start of this video). The minigame contains absolutely nothing erotic beyond a full-screen image of Cyberdwarf and Ivory Latta kissing (not show in the linked video).

The Crooked Man says right after the start "This game contains sudden surprises and harsh images. The weak of heart and those poor with horror should not play. The author takes no responsibility for any trouble that arises from playing the game."

Dreaming Mary has the radio voice during the sound test say that some areas of the dream "may not be suitable for children or those of a nervous disposition." And they mean it.

Racing Games with licensed or realistic vehicles, such as the Gran Turismo and Forza Motorsport series, will have a disclaimer that the cars featured in the game may differ from their real-life counterparts in design or performance (and also to be a safe driver). This is partly because Our Lawyers Advised This Trope; although these games use authenticity as a selling point, they could open themselves up to lawsuits if a car behaves worse in the game than it does in real life. Tokyo Xtreme Racer Drift 2 went further and added that some cars included in the game may "not be available in certain parts of the world".

Yandere Simulator had a more humorous one for its debug builds for some while, though it was eventually removed for being a bit too narmy.

"Mafia 3 takes place in a fictionalised version of the American South in 1968. We sought to create an authentic and immersive experience that captures this very turbulent time and place, including depictions of racism. We find the racist beliefs, language, and behaviours of some characters in the game abhorrent, but believe it is vital to include these depictions in order to tell Lincoln Clay's story. Most importantly, we felt that to not include this very real and shameful part of our past would have been offensive to the millions who faced - and still face - bigotry, discrimination, prejudice, and racism in all its forms."

"WARNING! The clip you are about to see is FAKE. All the places, characters, and events are more or less fictitious in their presentation and you are expected to know it never happened. It ain't a biography, people, it's an internet cartoon. Expect nothing but lies. LIES! P.S. You cannot refund time, so if I end up wasting yours, then do us both a favor and get over it. Using levitation! Using levitation! P.S. You cannot refund time, so if I end up wasting yours, then do us both of a favor...then do us both a favor and get over it. Using levitation! Using LEVITATION!...PSYoucannotrefundtimesoifIendupwastingyoursthendousbothafavorandgetoverit Using LEVITATION! LEVITATION! LEVITATION! Using LEVITATION! Ti revo teg dna rovaf a htob su od neht, sruoy gnitsaw pu dne I fi os, emit dnufer tonnac uoy S.P. P.S. You cannot refund time, so if I end up wasting yours, then do us both a favor and get over it. Using levitation! Peeeeeeeee.Eeessssssssss. Yooooouuuuuuu canooooooooott refuuuuuuuuuuuuund tiiiiiiiiiiime soooooo, if Iiiiiiiiiiii eeeeeeennd uuuuuup waaaaaaaaaasting yoooooooooouuuuuuuurs, theeeen doooo uuuusssssss booooooooth a favooooor annnnnnd get ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooveeeeeer iiiiiit."

The beginning of AMV Hell 0 (which is made almost entirely of Hentai clips) warns the viewer that the contents should not be viewed by anyone and that they should close their browser window right now.

RWBY: Under episode 7 of Volume 3, Rooster Teeth posted a warning to the Periphery Demographic of little kids that the show would get darker from here on out. And they weren't kidding: a main character gets shot in the chest by an arrow and whimpers desperately before being burned to ash by the end of the Volume.

Web Comics

"Venus Envy is Rated WEB-14 and probably isn't suitable for younger viewers or those who find the following things offensive: Homosexuality, Bisexuality, Transsexuality, Jews, Slapstick, Mixed-Religion Marriages, Women in the Workplace, Women in Pants, Plot, Girls' Soccer, or Chickens teaching Hard Science. If you find any of the above offensive, please go here."

The following story contains graphic violence not suitable for anyone. Parental guidance is suggested. Or you can just staple the kid's eyelids shut. That's not suggested, the parental guidance thingy is suggested, but we can't deny that staples are a timesaver.

They also had a number of similar labels at the bottom of particularly gory strips during the original "K I T T E N". These started out as fairly straight warning labels and grew increasingly satirical throughout.

Referenced and parodied in Least I Could Do, when the main character is asked what he hears when the MythBusters give their famous warning "Don't try what you're about to see at Home." "Ever.". The answer?

"Do it. Do it at home." "Do it bigger."

Brawl in the Family makes sure to warn you, at great length, that its "Nasty" strip contains "excess gore, racism, foul language, public indecency, [and] frightening imagery" before you get to the actual comic. Which it does — in the form of several work-safe VisualPuns.

The footer of El Goonish Shive states that it "is a comic about a group of teenagers who face both real life and bizarre, supernatural situations. It is a comedy mixed with drama and is recommended for audiences thirteen and older."

Team Four Star parodies content warnings on their bloopers or alternate ideas videos. Most notably, the first one opens with one of the members warning that the video will contain strong language not suitable for minors. He then adds "So if you're under the age of 18 and have never heard the word "fuck" before... well, you have now!"

The Cinema Snob opened his review of Gross Out (a movie made to be as disgusting and offensive as humanly possible) by warning the viewer to turn the episode off immediately. He gave this warning for good reason.

Ben Minnotte warns male viewers with girlfriends on the episode "American EXXXtacy (and Other C-Band Nastiness)" not to watch it, before noting that his viewers don't have girlfriends and saying there will be eye candy to female viewers.

Ben issues a more serious one at the beginning of the "Protect and Survive" episode due to its discussion of nuclear war and its use of Gallows Humor. Warnings are also occasionally inserted into the middle of episodes to advise viewers with sensitivities to certain topics to skip a particular segment.

The Rooster Teeth show Immersion had a content warning before some of their more dangerous experiments. They were serious, although some ended in a joke.

Jack: And you would be forever known as the person who died trying to imitate something from the internet. Don't Try This at Home.

"The following is made for satirical, parody, and entertainment purposes. All characters and events, even those based on real people, are fictional. This is meant to be enjoyed and not promote direspect. The opinions expressed in this program do not reflect those of Revision3 or ScrewAttack Entertainment LLC. The following program contains crude language and jokes. Due to its content it should not be viewed by anyone who may take an offense to anything."

Several reviews by TheNSCL feature these, though they do seem a bit strict at times. For example, the One-Punch Man review opens on a large 18+ advisory for violence, despite the show itself carrying a TV-PG rating.

One Youtuber, Retro Challenge Gamer, even puts up the actual ESRB rating logos for any games with a T rating or higher as a warning to potentially family unfriendly content contained within the video.

"Warning: The following video may contain language that some people may find crude, vulgar, or objectionable. The author makes no apologies for this. In fact, he is quite proud of it. This video is intended for mature audiences only. If you are uptight, puritanical, easily offended, or lacking a sense of humor, please stop reading and leave the Internet. Now."

Don Doko Don is rated "C" for "Cow King." It contains scenes of giant pumpkins and chef bears getting hit with hammers. Player discretion is advised.

Western Animation

South Park gives us the following: "All characters and events in this show — even those based on real people — are entirely fictional. All celebrity voices are impersonated... poorly. The following program contains coarse language and due to its content it should not be viewed by anyone."

[adult swim] has a general disclaimer that it's not for younger viewers, but for the really bloody episodes, it adds: "Just in case that last disclaimer wasn't enough, this episode contains extreme violence. We would rather run this than cut the violence from the episode because we are American Cowboys." They started doing this after the particularly graphic Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex episode "Jungle Cruise".

Code Monkeys contains a different gag disclaimer at the beginning of each episode, such as this one from "Super Prison Breakout":

This Show... A) Contains content that may not be suitable for all audiences. B) Might use the word (beep) a lot. C) Rocks. Viewer Discretion is advised.

In the Beany and Cecil episode So What, And The Seven WhatKnots, Liverache (a parody of Liberace) uses his blow torch to burn Dishonest John's butt. He gets electrocuted on search lights, then pauses the pain to tell kids that they've been watching too much violence on television. Then he continues the pain.

Beavis And Butthead had, not one, but two different Content Warnings during its run; apparently the first one wasn't quite serious enough, so they changed it up a bit without sacrificing the funny:

Beavis and Butt-head are not real. They are stupid cartoon people completely made up by this Texas guy who we hardly even know. Beavis and Butt-Head are dumb, crude, ugly, thoughtless, sexist, self-destructive fools. Some of the things they do will cause a person to get hurt, expelled, arrested...possibly deported. But for some reason the little wiener heads make us laugh.

Beavis and Butt-head are not role models. They're not even human; they're cartoons. Some of the things they do could cause a person to get hurt, expelled, arrested... possibly deported. To put it another way, Don't Try This at Home.

As the image at the top of the article shows, they even had to put in content warnings during the episodes "Stewart's House" (the gas stove sniffing one) and "Way Down Mexico Way" (the drug-filled condom swallowing one). Sadly, not even this bold act can save those episodes from being removed from circulation and returned to circulation with edits.

The DVDs of Futurama has content and copyright warnings in several languages, including alien script.

In the episode where Bender becomes a TV star, a scene of him setting himself on fire was given the disclaimer "Don't try this at home, kids", while Bender himself said "Try this, kids at home!"

The Boondocks occasionally features a disclaimer, most notably before its episode focusing on closeted rapper Gangstalicious, assuring its audience that no, Gangstalicious was not based on any real artists, no, not even the one you're thinking of, and we'd really prefer to avoid the requisite hate mail and death threats, thank you.

When Total Drama Island and 6teen first started airing on Cartoon Network they had a warning message before each episode that stated they were rated TV-PG (at the time, shows with that rating usually aired on Adult Swim). Seeing as both shows only qualify for a heavy TV-Y7 rating (or a TV-G rating at best), the warnings were eventually dropped. Many episodes of Total Drama also had the following built-in warning or some variation, read by Chris: "This episode of Total Drama contains scenes of extreme stunts performed by animated teens. Do not try any of what you see here at home. Seriously, you could get really messed up."

Clerks: The Animated Series has some great ones, especially when the narrator (Kevin Michael Richardson) wonders aloud "Is anyone still watching after all that?" or talks about how the first episode is supposedly awful: "Tune in next week for a much better episode! For now, though — courage."

Made fun of on Family Guy at the beginning of Homicide: Life on Sesame Street: "This show contains adult content and is brought to you by the letter H."

The Phineas and Ferb episode "The Monster of Doctor Phineasnferbenstein" opens with one, as a parody of the Frankenstein example above.

Shrek the Third had a special MPAA content descriptor for "Swashbuckling Action".

The Anime Boston convention has an extended warning segment before the AMV contest with clips from anime series showing what the warning represents, usually humorously. One year, the Fanservice warning featured a clip from Golden Boy and a character in a Stripperiffic costume that had the audience rolling on the floor laughing.

Back in 1999, when Animax Latin America was still called Locomotion, the series would start with a content warning featuring Playmobil-like figures doing a slapstick version of what the warning was about. Shortly before the name change, the figures were replaced with actual footage from anime series (for example, Neon Genesis Evangelion for violence or Agent Aika for sexual content) representing the warning.

YTV's old Bionix block had the exact same warning throughout, even before really aren't that violent. That said, the more violent shows usually got modified warnings. Usually, your standard shounenanime and so on had "This program contains mature themes and is intended for an older youth audience. Viewer discretion is advised." There are several cases where "older youth audience" was changed to "older teen audience" (for things like Ghost in the Shell and Death Note)... sandwiched between two "older youth audience" shows.

One episode of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex was initially skipped over due to gory content, but angry emails from fans led YTV to premiere it eventually, albeit with a special disclaimer saying that the violence was above what they would normally show.

In the early days of the UK's Channel 4, programmes of a sexual nature were marked with a 'red triangle'. This was dropped after realizing that this essentially marked out the good bits for everyone to find.

Certain channels in Britain may have a content warning prior to a show with mature content such as nudity or violence. If the show is really bad about it or has at least one scene that cranks it Up to Eleven there will be a content warning after the commercial break.

For many years Mexican TV networks would superimpose a capital "A" (for "adultos") in the corner of the screen on more mature shows.

While it is very rare, if NBC feels the need to preface its shows with such a warning, it does so with a blood-red splash-screen and the deep-voiced NBC announcer reading the caption, "Due to violent content, viewer discretion advised." If it is especially violent (for example, every episode of Hannibal), a tiny "Viewer Discretion Advised" caption pops up on the bottom of the screen at the start of each and every act.

PBS has its own generic warning screen which mainly appears on British programs (particularly Call the Midwife, with the exception of the Christmas specials), though POV has used a silent (read: without voiceover) variant before at least one episode:

Female British Announcer: The following program contains mature content which may not be suitable for all audiences. Viewer discretion is advised.

In Argentina (and some other South American countries), any program (or block of programs) meant for older audiences would typically begin with this (or a variation of it):

A partir de este momento / Aquí finaliza el horario de protección al menor. La permanencia de los niños frente al televisor queda la exclusiva / sola responsibilidad de los (señores) padres.note Very loosely: "The child protection block will now begin at this time / here. Any children still watching the television remain the sole responsibility of their parents."

Community

Tropes HQ

TVTropes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available from thestaff@tvtropes.org. Privacy Policy